Why I Write

I am a teacher of writing. Before that, I wrote because I had to, and before that, I wrote because I wanted to. I’m participating in Teachers Write 2016 because I want to return to writing because I want to and because after 10 years of teaching it, I need to do it more myself.

I love academic writing. From elementary school to graduate school, I happily wrote informational and argument pieces as long as I could research and use other ideas to support my own. I don’t remember ever loving creative writing (except for poetry) – I never thought I had much to say that hadn’t already been said. After all, there are really only seven original stories in the world, right?

I’m teaching a creative writing class to elementary students this summer, so I need to work on my own writing, both with and without them. They are so full of ideas! It’s totally cliche to say that I am inspired by them, but I am. They are brimming with things from their own lives, from books and movies, from pure imagination (thanks, Willy Wonka). We should take our cues from them.

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